UVic prof helps girls develop an antidote to racism

Education, research, community outreach and peer support — that’s Dr. Jo-anne Lee’s vision for combating racism and giving a voice to racialized minority girls and women. A recent $28,000 grant from Status of Women Canada helped the women’s studies professor form “Anti-dote,” a community network that provides racialized minority girls with supportive space and resources for advocacy and greater public awareness.
Victoria, with its self-styled image that harkens to colonial England, lacks the in-your-face diversity of larger Canadian cities like Vancouver or Montreal, says Lee, “and particularly now, after years of provincial and budget cuts, not enough community and resource organizations provide services to girls and young women of visible minority backgrounds.”
“Anti-dote” is the result of a series of research focus groups, conferences and community projects aimed at discovering the resource needs of girls and young women of colour. Lee and Anti-dote members are currently developing a proposal for a community centre to serve these young women.
“We discovered that a lot of these girls really felt isolated in Victoria,” says Lee. “Anti-dote is really filling a gap.”

March 8-13 is International Women’s Week.

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